Hey everybody. I thought I'd pull up this clip from the movie Expelled. Although the movie wasn't hardcore enough for me. I still enjoyed it and found it helpful.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Monday, April 6, 2009
New Blog
Hey readers. I started another blog more about my personal life.
http://thoughtsfromben16.blogspot.com/
http://thoughtsfromben16.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Behind the Scenes
Here is a speech I gave at toastmasters this morning. Enjoy!
Behind the Scenes of a Movie
By Ben Kayser
Movies. Everybody likes to watch movies. Whether you are young or old there is a movie out there that you can relate to. I am going to show you how much work is put into your 2 hours of entertainment. So where does it start?
It starts with the producer. Lets say he’s driving somewhere and then he suddenly slams on his breaks and yells, “I’ve got a great movie idea.” He then writes a short synopsis about the story. A synopsis would be a short description of the general plot of the story. One would sound like this, “Arnold Shwarzenager finds out he is slowly turning into a butterfly, the evil praying mantis man sends out his hoard of butterfly nets to catch Arnold.”
After the general story is laid out, the producer sends it to a screenplay writer of his choice. Several months pass by before the screenplay is finished and is then presented to some financial sponsors.
It then moves into Pre-Production where the producer will cast his crew. The crew can range anywhere between 5 and 500 people depending on the budget.
We all have our favorite directors, producers and cinematographers. But for those who get lost in the titles I will set off to explain the duties of the crew.
As I explained earlier, the producer is in charge of what goes on behind the scenes. But the director is in charge of everything that goes on in front of the camera. The main thing that the director is in charge of is the creative elements during the filming process. The director is always heavily involved with the actors. In a way, the director is the visionary of the film. A director almost has to know every thing about filmmaking. Whether it’s cinematography, lighting, script writing or audio recording the director needs to know how to do it. Trust me, being a director is a lot more than just bossing people around.
Many people may think that cinematographers have a really easy job. Push the record button and point the camera at the actors. Actually, cinematographers have the most technical job on the set. They need to know cameras like the HVX200, Cannon XG A1S, or the Panasonic AG-HPX300. They need to know about the film stock, color filters, how focal length affects the depth of field, aspect ratio and framing. This is just a little bit of what a cinematographer must master.
A day of filming can be very chaotic if the producer doesn’t have a detailed schedule. The crew usually arrives on location a few hours before the actors to get everything set up. The cameras are adjusted, the props are being set and the lights are being rigged. All the while the actors are in the wardrobe and makeup department getting ready. On films like The Lord of the Rings, the wardrobe and makeup department can have hundreds of workers. This can literally take hours. Once the actors are prepped and the crew is assembled they start filming. Filming can be a very long process because of retakes. If the director isn’t happy with the shot then they re-shoot it. Once they get the shot he likes, they move on. A day of filming sometimes takes 14-16 hours of work. That’s a long day.
After filming is done it goes to the film editor. The editor goes through all of the video and sticks it together with editing software. Not only that, but they have to put in proper transitions and fix the color correction. Editing is it’s own art. If the movie is poorly edited the movie can be choppy and very confusing. When you’re listening to a classical piece, you will notice that it flows very smoothly. That is how a film must be edited. If you move from one shot to anther too quickly people will not be able to keep up.
Once the movie is edited in a way where the director approves it moves on to the sound editor. The sound editor must create fake sound effects for things that were not recorded on the set. Things like a punch to the face, a gun being shot off or a person stomping on the floor must be separately recorded. A lot of times they have to record sounds that sound similar instead of actually recording that specific object. Once that is done, it goes to the composer to create a soundtrack.
Once the soundtrack is created the movie then goes back to the production company that sponsored the film. They make deals with the cinemas and then it gets released into theaters. That’s where you come in and spend your $8 to watch the movie.
Now, I don’t have a lot of experience with filmmaking. But for the past 5 years it has been my hobby to study filmmaking. I hope you’ve learned a little and I hope this gives you a little more appreciation for your favorite movie.
Behind the Scenes of a Movie
By Ben Kayser
Movies. Everybody likes to watch movies. Whether you are young or old there is a movie out there that you can relate to. I am going to show you how much work is put into your 2 hours of entertainment. So where does it start?
It starts with the producer. Lets say he’s driving somewhere and then he suddenly slams on his breaks and yells, “I’ve got a great movie idea.” He then writes a short synopsis about the story. A synopsis would be a short description of the general plot of the story. One would sound like this, “Arnold Shwarzenager finds out he is slowly turning into a butterfly, the evil praying mantis man sends out his hoard of butterfly nets to catch Arnold.”
After the general story is laid out, the producer sends it to a screenplay writer of his choice. Several months pass by before the screenplay is finished and is then presented to some financial sponsors.
It then moves into Pre-Production where the producer will cast his crew. The crew can range anywhere between 5 and 500 people depending on the budget.
We all have our favorite directors, producers and cinematographers. But for those who get lost in the titles I will set off to explain the duties of the crew.
As I explained earlier, the producer is in charge of what goes on behind the scenes. But the director is in charge of everything that goes on in front of the camera. The main thing that the director is in charge of is the creative elements during the filming process. The director is always heavily involved with the actors. In a way, the director is the visionary of the film. A director almost has to know every thing about filmmaking. Whether it’s cinematography, lighting, script writing or audio recording the director needs to know how to do it. Trust me, being a director is a lot more than just bossing people around.
Many people may think that cinematographers have a really easy job. Push the record button and point the camera at the actors. Actually, cinematographers have the most technical job on the set. They need to know cameras like the HVX200, Cannon XG A1S, or the Panasonic AG-HPX300. They need to know about the film stock, color filters, how focal length affects the depth of field, aspect ratio and framing. This is just a little bit of what a cinematographer must master.
A day of filming can be very chaotic if the producer doesn’t have a detailed schedule. The crew usually arrives on location a few hours before the actors to get everything set up. The cameras are adjusted, the props are being set and the lights are being rigged. All the while the actors are in the wardrobe and makeup department getting ready. On films like The Lord of the Rings, the wardrobe and makeup department can have hundreds of workers. This can literally take hours. Once the actors are prepped and the crew is assembled they start filming. Filming can be a very long process because of retakes. If the director isn’t happy with the shot then they re-shoot it. Once they get the shot he likes, they move on. A day of filming sometimes takes 14-16 hours of work. That’s a long day.
After filming is done it goes to the film editor. The editor goes through all of the video and sticks it together with editing software. Not only that, but they have to put in proper transitions and fix the color correction. Editing is it’s own art. If the movie is poorly edited the movie can be choppy and very confusing. When you’re listening to a classical piece, you will notice that it flows very smoothly. That is how a film must be edited. If you move from one shot to anther too quickly people will not be able to keep up.
Once the movie is edited in a way where the director approves it moves on to the sound editor. The sound editor must create fake sound effects for things that were not recorded on the set. Things like a punch to the face, a gun being shot off or a person stomping on the floor must be separately recorded. A lot of times they have to record sounds that sound similar instead of actually recording that specific object. Once that is done, it goes to the composer to create a soundtrack.
Once the soundtrack is created the movie then goes back to the production company that sponsored the film. They make deals with the cinemas and then it gets released into theaters. That’s where you come in and spend your $8 to watch the movie.
Now, I don’t have a lot of experience with filmmaking. But for the past 5 years it has been my hobby to study filmmaking. I hope you’ve learned a little and I hope this gives you a little more appreciation for your favorite movie.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Christian Cinema Interviews the Executive Producer of "Expelled"
Christian Cinema Interviews the Executive Producer of "Expelled"
You can visit the link at http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=969
You can visit the link at http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=969
Walt J. Ruloff is the CEO of Premise Media Corporation and Executive Producer of Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. Described as a “serial entrepreneur,” Walt started, built and eventually sold multiple companies in his career. His ventures ranged from snowboard manufacturing to Ecash Technologies to a Multi-Family Real Estate trust. In 2005 Walt turned his full attention to the media and co-founded Premise Media Corporation. We talked with him about his experiences as a first-time filmmaker facing down the scientific community.This film originated because of your personal interest, correct?
Walt: Yes. My background is in software and technology, and after selling my last software company, I was interested in getting into biotech. What really intrigued and troubled me was the approach in biotech that was very different from that of our technology companies.
In technology, in our approach, we were able to think completely outside the box and challenge the current paradigm. We were constantly challenging the current way in which we looked at the process. The presiding orthodoxy was always up for challenge.
What I found that deeply disturbed me in biotech was a deep-seated orthodoxy within biology that just couldn’t be questioned. That’s what originally got us energized to do something.
What we found was that you had to look and interpret the basic tenets of biology through the lens of Darwinian evolution. If there was some contrary evidence or data, you had to figure out a way to re-package it that so it fit back into the reigning orthodoxy. Darwinian evolution is based on random mutation together with natural selection.
So what really intrigued me was the whole aspect of random mutation and something called “adaptation processes,” which meant that within the cell and biology that allowed the biological mechanism to adapt to situations that were definitely not random. As I probed around in that area I realized it was very problematic not because of science but because of politics.
It’s interesting that the problematic nature comes not from science but from politics. The average person doesn’t always consider the political implications of science. How do you hope to challenge the average person to that deeper level of thinking that goes beyond considering it a challenge between the Bible and science?Walt: We really struggled with this because we tried to approach this in a more academic way. Connecting it to the every day average person was a challenge. How do you get people to wake up and think about this problem within biology? It’s really a much larger issue and extremely important that we take it seriously.
A simplistic answer would be that the prevailing dominance of the scientific method that, without people even knowing it, has entered into our society in a very big way. It’s a process that everything has to be reduced to a mechanism or material, observable process. Most importantly, it cannot have any metaphysical implications. If it has any metaphysical implications, that means something outside, something from the Divine.
That has to be eliminated from the landscape; from the political landscape, and very importantly, from law and science. So the elimination of that metaphysical problem, and what we’re observing has very strong indications of that metaphysical, is something very important for people to realize. That’s happening in our daily lives, and it’s why we’re having this disconnect. People that have a faith position have been pushed to the sidelines and regarded as irrational and subjective. That has created a huge void, and it’s caused many problems.
We need to figure out how to integrate both of those spheres again, because like it or not, it’s intrinsic and a huge part of who we are a people. By separating those things, we’ve done a major disservice.
Some of the information you provided on your website was very effective at taking the argument out of the laboratory and making it more understandable to the common person. When you were working on this project, did you encounter scientists who are exploring the area of Intelligent Design, but aren’t necessarily believers?
Walt: Most of them, I would say, fall into the category of “agnostic.” They didn’t know, but they were intellectually honest and said, “There’s evidence here of something other, and I’m going to follow it, even if I’m not a Christian.”
That was great, but the sad thing is that those very scientists, when they went beyond the protocols, were denied tenure or ridiculed and mocked.So people who want to turn this into a faith vs. science issue are actually portraying the dispute inaccurately.
Walt: They’re doing that for strategic reasons. Most of the people doing that are using it as a way of fending off and saying, “See, this is what it’s all about. It’s about religion, and we can’t allow religion to enter into science.” But that’s not what it’s about.
If you really go to an intellectually honest observer of science, who’s actually walking through the scientific method and accepts the metaphysical implications of what he or she is unraveling, those are the ones that are very true. And that’s what it’s all about.
You seem like a man of science yourself. Was your interest and work in software something that came from work you were doing in software engineering, or an investment perspective?
Walt: I started hacking around with computers when I was very young. I started playing around in software and developing systems with other engineers. I started a software company when I was 25, and so initially I was coming from a curiosity point of view, and that became an investment point of view.
The little company I started grew to a company well over 350 or 400 people. We became the worldwide de facto standard in something called Optimizational Logistics Algorithms for large corporations. We came up with mathematical optimizational algorithms and formulas and designed practical applications for large corporations who had worldwide movement of goods across their web. UPS was one of our clients.
You can read the rest of the article at http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/newsdesk_info.php?newsdesk_id=969
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Less Money, More Movies?
Less Money, More Movies?
With the failing economy, people are starting to cut down on spending. Some are starting to do more cooking at home, while others are shopping at second hand stores. But whether you’re rich or poor, there’s one thing that a lot of people are still doing: going to the movies. That’s right. We already have a record high for the first two months of the year. Compared to 2007, these two months have increased 35.3%. That’s a 400 million dollar difference. So let me pose a question. Even though huge sequels like X-men, Terminator and Transformers will be coming out this year, will the failing economy decrease box office sales? I would say no. Why? Well, the first reason is that when people fall under tough financial and emotional situations, they like to forget their problems and be entertained. This happened in the great depression.
When “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” came out during the great depression in 1937 it grossed 180 million dollars. Two years later, “Gone with the Wind” broke all records with nearly 200 million dollars. The bottom line is that the lack of money in the home does not alter the entertainment industry. Another interesting factor is that three of the top 5 grossing movies of 2009 so far are comedies. It doesn’t surprise me that people would rather laugh than cry when in a difficult situation. Eight dollars for two hours of pleasure is pretty cheap. The sad thing in all of this is that when people rely on entertainment to get through hard times, they rob themselves of joy in the Lord. Romans 14:17 says, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” I’m not at all saying that watching movies robs you of joy. I am saying that when you rely on movies to get you through tough times, you will be worse off than you were before.
With the failing economy, people are starting to cut down on spending. Some are starting to do more cooking at home, while others are shopping at second hand stores. But whether you’re rich or poor, there’s one thing that a lot of people are still doing: going to the movies. That’s right. We already have a record high for the first two months of the year. Compared to 2007, these two months have increased 35.3%. That’s a 400 million dollar difference. So let me pose a question. Even though huge sequels like X-men, Terminator and Transformers will be coming out this year, will the failing economy decrease box office sales? I would say no. Why? Well, the first reason is that when people fall under tough financial and emotional situations, they like to forget their problems and be entertained. This happened in the great depression.
When “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” came out during the great depression in 1937 it grossed 180 million dollars. Two years later, “Gone with the Wind” broke all records with nearly 200 million dollars. The bottom line is that the lack of money in the home does not alter the entertainment industry. Another interesting factor is that three of the top 5 grossing movies of 2009 so far are comedies. It doesn’t surprise me that people would rather laugh than cry when in a difficult situation. Eight dollars for two hours of pleasure is pretty cheap. The sad thing in all of this is that when people rely on entertainment to get through hard times, they rob themselves of joy in the Lord. Romans 14:17 says, “for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” I’m not at all saying that watching movies robs you of joy. I am saying that when you rely on movies to get you through tough times, you will be worse off than you were before.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Marxist Influences on America
I gave this speech at toastmasters a few weeks ago. Enjoy.
The Marxist Influences of America
Karl Marx had 10 platforms for the success of atheistic communism: 1,The abolition of Private Property. 2, A heavy progressive income tax. 3. Confiscation of all the Property of those who disagree with the Government and 4. Abolition of Inheritance. These are just a few of the clearly communistic principles that Karl Marx held. I want to show you his hatred for Christianity and then focus on two institutions that have clearly been hijacked by the Marxists.
Over 150 years ago Karl Marx said “The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.”
This quote has been the centerpiece for the Marxist movement. Their hatred for Christianity and Biblical values has driven them to desperate measures. But before I go any further let me explain who Karl Marx was. Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in the huge country of Prussia. As a child he pestered his father with questions about his Jewish faith. Being very busy his father ignored the questions. Later on, Karl’s father converted to Catholicism because he believed it would be better for his business. Because of his inconsistent beliefs this gave Karl a hatred for religion. Karl was thought to be a Christian until about age 19 when he turned away from the faith. After rejecting the faith Karl started writing violent poetry about destroying the world. He later enrolled at Humboldt University where earned his doctorate. Marx sought to develop a worldview that would replace Christianity. The result was Marxism.
In the early 1900’s, Marxists were strategizing on how to bring down western civilization. One of Marx’s followers known as Antonio Gramsci, hatched a plan to tear down the Christian church in America. Gramsci discovered that if they had a stronghold in two certain industries in America, the Church would weaken without people even noticing.
The first industry that they hijacked was Hollywood. In the 1930’s socialism reigned in Europe and movies had skyrocketed in America. This presented a huge opportunity for the Marxists to present their propaganda on film. They knew that if they could normalize immorality on the TV screen, they could slowly take control of the people. Hundreds of filmmakers moved from Europe to America to take on this opportunity. Within 40 years Hollywood moved from being morally upright to immoral. The main thing that helps the pagans promote their agenda is when people say, “it’s only a movie.” People need to realize that every movie is promoting a worldview. Whether that worldview is Christian or pagan is for you to discover. We need to know who is framing our worldview behind that TV screen. Professional filmmaker and ex-Marxist Geoff Botkin teaches that Marxism largely forms the worldview in Hollywood.
The second institution the Marxists sought to hijack was the school. One position Karl Marx held was that education must be free. This may seem like a profitable thing at first look. But hidden underneath are anti-Christian beliefs. Marxism has its beliefs written all over the schools.
It is no longer believed or taught that Government has its constitutional boundaries. Kids are told that the Government will be at our service for every need. Constitutional law has been forgotten and this is exactly what the Marxists want. All 10 Marxist principles legislate large Government.
Now before I get the award for the most depressing speech of the year I do have some encouragement.
The first piece of encouragement relates to Hollywood. There are more and more Christian films that are coming out Independently. I am praying that Christian films will be the majority of films within 10 years.
The second piece of encouragement relates to the homeschoolers. We, as homeschoolers, have been butting against the Marxist view of education for 25 years. We need to make sure we don’t stop. We need to be studying God’s view of math, history, science, law and economics.
To make sure that we stay away from Marxist principles we need to follow these three steps.
1. We need to educate ourselves of the threat of Marxism in our nation. We need to know them and be able to refute any attack against Christianity. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”
2. We need to elect godly congressmen and senators who understand and will uphold the constitution.
3. Third and most importantly, we need to pray that God would preserve our Nation. Because if we are without God the battle is already lost.
The Marxist Influences of America
Karl Marx had 10 platforms for the success of atheistic communism: 1,The abolition of Private Property. 2, A heavy progressive income tax. 3. Confiscation of all the Property of those who disagree with the Government and 4. Abolition of Inheritance. These are just a few of the clearly communistic principles that Karl Marx held. I want to show you his hatred for Christianity and then focus on two institutions that have clearly been hijacked by the Marxists.
Over 150 years ago Karl Marx said “The first requisite for the happiness of the people is the abolition of religion.”
This quote has been the centerpiece for the Marxist movement. Their hatred for Christianity and Biblical values has driven them to desperate measures. But before I go any further let me explain who Karl Marx was. Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818 in the huge country of Prussia. As a child he pestered his father with questions about his Jewish faith. Being very busy his father ignored the questions. Later on, Karl’s father converted to Catholicism because he believed it would be better for his business. Because of his inconsistent beliefs this gave Karl a hatred for religion. Karl was thought to be a Christian until about age 19 when he turned away from the faith. After rejecting the faith Karl started writing violent poetry about destroying the world. He later enrolled at Humboldt University where earned his doctorate. Marx sought to develop a worldview that would replace Christianity. The result was Marxism.
In the early 1900’s, Marxists were strategizing on how to bring down western civilization. One of Marx’s followers known as Antonio Gramsci, hatched a plan to tear down the Christian church in America. Gramsci discovered that if they had a stronghold in two certain industries in America, the Church would weaken without people even noticing.
The first industry that they hijacked was Hollywood. In the 1930’s socialism reigned in Europe and movies had skyrocketed in America. This presented a huge opportunity for the Marxists to present their propaganda on film. They knew that if they could normalize immorality on the TV screen, they could slowly take control of the people. Hundreds of filmmakers moved from Europe to America to take on this opportunity. Within 40 years Hollywood moved from being morally upright to immoral. The main thing that helps the pagans promote their agenda is when people say, “it’s only a movie.” People need to realize that every movie is promoting a worldview. Whether that worldview is Christian or pagan is for you to discover. We need to know who is framing our worldview behind that TV screen. Professional filmmaker and ex-Marxist Geoff Botkin teaches that Marxism largely forms the worldview in Hollywood.
The second institution the Marxists sought to hijack was the school. One position Karl Marx held was that education must be free. This may seem like a profitable thing at first look. But hidden underneath are anti-Christian beliefs. Marxism has its beliefs written all over the schools.
It is no longer believed or taught that Government has its constitutional boundaries. Kids are told that the Government will be at our service for every need. Constitutional law has been forgotten and this is exactly what the Marxists want. All 10 Marxist principles legislate large Government.
Now before I get the award for the most depressing speech of the year I do have some encouragement.
The first piece of encouragement relates to Hollywood. There are more and more Christian films that are coming out Independently. I am praying that Christian films will be the majority of films within 10 years.
The second piece of encouragement relates to the homeschoolers. We, as homeschoolers, have been butting against the Marxist view of education for 25 years. We need to make sure we don’t stop. We need to be studying God’s view of math, history, science, law and economics.
To make sure that we stay away from Marxist principles we need to follow these three steps.
1. We need to educate ourselves of the threat of Marxism in our nation. We need to know them and be able to refute any attack against Christianity. 1 Peter 3:15 says, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;”
2. We need to elect godly congressmen and senators who understand and will uphold the constitution.
3. Third and most importantly, we need to pray that God would preserve our Nation. Because if we are without God the battle is already lost.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Speechless: Silencing the Christians
AFA (American Family Institute) has been trying to air this 14 episode TV series. I have watched several episodes of this informative show. It is really good. Here's a link. http://www.silencingchristians.com/
This is what OneNewNow has to say about it.
This is what OneNewNow has to say about it.
The American Family Association (AFA), a pro-family group based in Mississippi, has encountered resistance in its attempts to air a television special called Speechless: Silencing the Christians.
According to the website SilencingChristians.com, the majority of Americans get their information about the homo
AFA is now buying prime-time slots on the nation's television stations to present that special to provide factual, Christian-based information on the topic. But the pro-family group reports it has run up against blatant "silencing" of that message. "There's a real threat to our First Amendment and free-speech rights because Christians are being shut down and shut out and shut up by the very people who say they champion freedom of speech," asserts AFA president Tim Wildmon.
For example, WSXY in Columbus, Ohio, has refused the air the program. WSPA in Greenville, South Carolina, aired it, but then ran an apology from the station manager. And in Grand Rapids, Michigan, WOOD-TV agreed initially to air the show Monday evening, then bumped it to Wednesday, then proposed to run it on Saturday afternoon -- and now has cancelled it entirely.
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